The Confessions of Anthony Raimondi

Raimondi, confessing his sins as he faces imminent death, discusses his involvement in an alleged conspiracy to kill the pope.

“In 1978, Pope John Paul I was found dead in bed 33 days after he was elected,” the press release states. “The Vatican announced to the world that the pope suffered a fatal heart attack, but many people believe the pope was murdered by poison because he was planning to investigate financial corruption in the Vatican.”

Smerling takes into consideration troubling facts, including the Vatican’s alleged lies over who found the sovereign’s dead body, and the Catholic Church’s “rush” to embalm the pope without an autopsy taking place, according to the release.

Smerling investigates as Raimondi confesses to “a lot of things.”

“From killing a guy at 16 as part of a misspent youth, to his relationship with famous gangsters, to trading a long murder sentence to fight covert battles for the U.S. government in Vietnam,” the release continues. “Anthony’s most outrageous claim ends in the dark halls of Vatican City and the Papal Chamber with the poisoning of John Paul I.”

Raimondi tells the host he witnessed the pope’s alleged murder first-hand. Smerling, taking in the “dizzying confessions from a brutal mafia enforcer,” questions whether Raimondi is merely a fabulist or if there is some truth behind his claims.

“His story is stranger than fiction, but is it fiction?” Smerling wonders. “That’s what we’ll find out.”